Oh, but there will be awkwardness. How could there not? Over the past few months, Landon has quietly crept into every aspect of my life. Peeking over at me from his backyard to ask what I was reading. Texting me his observations about the books on his reading list. Asking me questions he just as easily could have googled. He was always unsociable and moody, but he became a fixture in my life. I could expect to see him every day, and at some point, I started to look forward to his grumbled responses and icy stares.
Now everything is going to change. He’s a veritable deity. Black Mountain Academy’s newest left tackle. Famous actor. Heir to his grandmother’s fortune. And I’m… well, me. His pint-sized neighbor everyone at BMA still calls that new girl. The only fortune I ever knew before we came here was collecting seashells on the beach. Our worlds are not the same.
He’s probably in there right now with a whole cult of admirers. All those pretty girls in my class who look as though they’re walking around with a permanent photo filter on their face. The wisp thin cheerleaders and models and Instagram influencers. I can’t compete with that, but it’s that same notion that creates a fire in me. I have to see it for myself. I have to see what his life is really like.
“Do you want to come with me?” I ask Court.
“You know I’d rather watch paint dry.” She smirks. “I have to get going anyway. My mom made me promise I wouldn’t be long.”
“Alright.” I nod stiffly. “Well, I guess I’ll talk to you later, then?”
“Text me everything when you leave. If I don’t hear from you, I’ll assume you’ve been reprogrammed.”
“Very funny.” I roll my eyes.
“Seriously, though, text me so I don’t worry. If I don’t hear from you, I’m coming back.”
“I will,” I assure her. “Thanks, Court.”
She turns, and I watch her head back down the street. She only lives about a mile away, so we can walk to each other’s houses easily enough. I just wish she didn’t have to go home tonight.
When I glance back up at the most impressive mansion on the block, a deep sigh heaves from my chest. I guess it’s now or never. I walk to the door and open it like I’ve done countless times before. Only this time, Landon’s priceless marble floors are littered with empty beer cans and red Solo cups. The pungent scent of liquor burns my nostrils as I take in the scene around me. It’s so loud my eardrums are vibrating, and I can’t hear myself think. This must be what Las Vegas feels like. The place is wall-to-wall maniacs.
In the foyer, two guys are sliding down the banister in their underwear while the crowd cheers on their stupidity and films it. A few feet away, identical twins are dancing on a table in bikinis while entitled assholes throw dollar bills at their feet. It only gets more depraved the deeper I venture. In the sitting room is a group of footballers fondling a nearly naked brunette. In the kitchen, guys are lining up to take body shots off a girl from last year’s biology class, and she’s not wearing anything. Everywhere I look, it’s chaos.
My mind conjured up a lot of scenarios for what this party might be like, but it wasn’t this imaginative. A wave of nausea crashes over me as I consider what else I might find. In particular, who I might find Landon with.
I don’t know what I’m doing here. I shouldn’t want to see this. Technically, Landon and I aren’t even friends. I’m just the girl sent by the school to help him, and he’s just the moody asshole I couldn’t help crushing on. So, it’s no big deal what he does, right?
Except it feels like a big deal to me.
“Bruhhhh, look who showed up.” One of the football players from BMA intercepts me, humping the air as he eyes my chest. “Yo, Hawaii! Wanna smash?”
“Ugh, don’t be such a pig, Camden.” A platinum blonde with icy blue eyes shoves him out of the way and takes his place in front of me. “Men, am I right?”
“I’m not sure you can call these atomic masses of hormones men just yet,” I answer dryly.
“You’re funny.” Her red lips tilt at the corners, and I think I just entered an alternate universe. One where Audrey Rothschild has suddenly decided to notice my existence.
I know who she is because everyone does. Audrey is a Black Mountain Academy fixture simply for the fact that her entire family is alumni. She belongs here as much as one of the historically preserved buildings. Nobody challenges her existence. They just worship her for what she represents.
Rumor has it her grades suck, and her parents pay off the staff every year, but nobody really knows for sure. In either case, it doesn’t seem to matter. She’s one of those freakishly genetically gifted girls who looks like a Stepford daughter. But she supposedly spent the summer on a medical holiday in an unknown location nipping and tucking her assets. We had three classes together last year, and not once did she ever bother to look my way. So, I can’t figure out why she’s talking to me now.